Bunny Hand Puppets

As I was making these sweet bunny hand puppets I realized that my attachment to them had grown beyond my usual care and attention and had blossomed into full blown love! They just seem to have such personalities! I found myself getting a little carried away, actually naming each one and fabricating little story lines about them. (Maybe I need to get out more!)

These puppets are sewn from durable, soft 100% wool felt in ecru, accented by a vibrant Dahlia Bundle. They are so simple to sew that they’re the perfect project to make with a child who is just learning. Their bright colors and happy smiles make them extra fun to construct and to play with once they’re finished!

Ps- These puppets were partially inspired by my earlier Bunny Finger Puppets, which you can find here!

Materials

You can make as many or as few of these hand puppets as you like. Below is a list of materials for one bunny and for a set of eight. If you’d like to make a different amount here’s the math:

Note: For all the sewing in this project you will be using three strands of the DMC at a time.

Size

8 X 15-inches

Pattern

Cutting

If you’re making more than one puppet make sure to cut your pieces out carefully. Start with the ecru felt marking the pieces for the body and the outer ears. Trace the body pieces as close as possible to one another as shown above. You should be able to get three body pieces and nine outer ear pieces from each square. Make sure to trace and cut only the amount of outer ear pieces that you need.

Cut the body and outer ear pieces out carefully.

Trace the inner ear, nose, and and tail pieces onto the colored felt and cut them out carefully.

For each puppet you should have the following pieces:

2 body pieces in ecru

4 outer ear pieces in ecru

2 inner ear pieces in a bright color

1 nose in a bright color

1 tail piece in a bright color

The Tail

Press the tail piece in half lengthwise. Snip into the folded side every 1/4-inch stopping the cut 1/4-inch from the unfolded side to create a fringe along the folded side as shown above.

Thread a needle with the ecru embroidery thread and tie a knot at the end.

Roll the strip into a spiral along its unfolded sides. Press the needle through the center of the roll as shown above.

Keep rolling and sewing through the center in this manner until you reach the end of the tail piece.

Then whip stitch around the perimeter of the spiral to secure it, tie a knot, and cut your thread.

Turn the tail around so that the front is showing. Using a small pair of scissors snip all of the loops open.

When all the loops have been cut your tail is done. It should look like a little pom pom.

Using the ecru thread sew the tail onto the back body piece 1-inch from the bottom and equidistant from each side. Put the back body piece aside.

The Ears

Pin together two outer ear pieces and one inner ear piece so that the outer pieces are flush with one another and the inner piece is centered.

Using a small running stitch sew the three pieces together around the edge of the inner ear piece.

Repeat this for the second ear.

The Face

Using the pencil draw the eyes and mouth onto the front body piece using the template as a reference.

You can embroider the eyes using a sort of half chain stitch by following the diagram above. The odd numbers represent the needle’s exit point and the even numbers represent entrance points.

Stitch the mouth using a small back stitch.

Place the nose piece on top of the mouth as shown above. You’ll be sewing it on through the back of the felt of the nose piece without the thread showing through to the front. This can be a bit tricky so you might want to add a dab of fabric glue under the nose (and let it dry) before you sew it on to make sure it’s secure.

To sew the nose on use the ecru thread and stitch just through the back of the felt of the nose piece, so that the stitching is invisible on the front. This might take a few tries.

Sewing Together

Pin all of the pieces together, with the ear pieces sandwiched in between the front and back pieces, as shown above.

Using a small running stitch and the ecru thread stitch all around the perimeter.

When you go around the top of the head make sure you’re sewing through the back, front and ear pieces to secure the ears.

I am half done my 1st of 4 bunnies- I just love this! so sweet! I really wanted to say I am surprised at how quickly it sews up, I will definitely get them all done in time! thank you! I love it when a project is easier than I expected but looks really great!

Hi, I know this tutorial is over a year old but I wondered if I was meant to print the template at the size it downloads as, as the pieces look bigger than I'd expected. Thank you for the posting this beautiful project. Liz

Yes, the template is meant to be printed out as is. The bunny body should take up most of an 8 X11 piece of paper. You are certainly welcome to print them out at a smaller size if you like, the pattern should still work.

I’m sorry to hear you’re having this problem! Here is something that might help from our FAQ section. I hope it helps!

Molly

HOW CAN I PRINT A PATTERN FROM THE PURL BEE

If you’re on a desktop version of the site, you will find a “print” icon in the right column just below the date and tags. If you’re on a mobile version of the site, you will find a “print” icon below the pattern, after the comment box.

If the images aren’t showing up in the print screen, close out of the print screen, scroll to the bottom of the post so that all the images populate and then click the print button once again. At this point all of the images should be there!

Follow the easy on-screen instructions for customizing what parts of the pattern you want to delete for printing (for example, certain images or the list of materials).

Wow! What an attractive and colorful post. The bunny hand puppets are really a great fun time for kids. Thanks for providing the steps for how we can make the bunny puppets in easy way. I can’t wait to add this soon to my kid’s toys collection!